i think they'll be back when the world economies have rebounded and are inflating again. fielding an F1 team means tons of disposable cash and i'm honestly surprised that more teams didn't hang up their tire warmers this season than just Honda. BMW wasn't getting the result they wanted and the payback was very limited. i don't know how you can justify spending the money on that right now unless you're willing to do it for posterity's sake.

whatevs. it sucks but they'll return when the time is right for their wallet. business is business afterall.

DAMN!!! That sucks. I am very dissapointed with that decision. In that case they should of just quit last year when they were doing good. Now to leave the sport from one horrible year. They look like a bunch of idiots. Hopefully they can get some results for the last half of the season (unlikely). F1 is my favorite sport and they were my favorite team. At least we get to see Schumacher race again in a month.

You all don't get it. Sustainability/hybrid design/CAFE regulations will force BMW to bring 4cylinder engines and hybrid design to market. This doesn't come without significant R&D. The trickle down from F1 is in performance. The world doesn't care about performance at this time.

Imagine a hybrid sports car that gets 40mpg in the city.

BMW's identity lies in performance...so to quit just because it isn't what the world wants is pretty pathetic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BiscottiGelato

Three years to win the championship.... they are just being stupid.... utterly disappointed.

+1. Totally unrealistic expectations from the get go. This is likely a result of the fact that the board members have NO CONCEPT WHATSOEVER of what it takes to make a successful F1 team. An unfortunate circumstance when uninformed people are given lots of power to make big decisions. But I'm actually not even sure who sits on the board, so maybe I'm making an uninformed comment here

Quote:

Originally Posted by FStop7

F1 team led by martinets and quitters who cost Kubica a title shot last year by refusing to support him in favor of developing the 2009 car. Which was a dismal failure.

Next generation M3 will have a turbo 6, no more high revving NA engines for M cars

BMW offers nothing in their lineup that can compete with the heavy hitting cars made by Audi, Porsche, or Mercedes.

BMW is making poop cars that nobody wants, like the 5 series GT.

BMW is done. Sinking ship.

BMW is far from a sinking ship...but I do agree that they are "selling out." Their recent decisions are proof that BMW is more concerned with what other people think they should be.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kooper

Racing in general seems to be going down the crapper at the moment. F1 is imploding on itself, Touring Cars are slowly shriveling up, Le Mans only has two big guns in its premier category...

F1 is a disaster zone...and for that reason I don't blame BMW so much for pulling out. However, they should have just said that they were pulling out because it did not make sense to continue at such a tumultous time during F1's history. They should have blamed it on Bernie instead of coming out and saying that they're quitting because they care more about efficient dynamics and other stupid sustainable technologies. There is no arguing that BMW looks like a whiner and a quitter.

On the contrary, I think it takes vision to leave the most expensive form of motorsports in the world that is rife with politics and continues to ignore the biggest market for it's vehicles in the world.

In five years it will be like when Penske left CART- brilliant move.

Finally, some sense in this thread. Wait until the new M comes out with a 3.2L TT, 6cyl twisting up to 8k rpm. Everyone will forget about all this F1 crap.